This is the Story of a Girl
by LeytonBrulianNaley
Summary: Brooke's father's job forces them to move back to the place of her birth. A place riddled with heartache and confusion for her. Will it all get easier when she meets the co-workers at her new job? Rated T for language and sexual content.
1. I'm Still Trying To Figure It Out

_Hey guys! So I haven't written in a long time, and I know that I've had a couple of stories that haven't gone very far, but I'm really excited about this one! So it's gonna take some easing into and it may be slow at first, but just bear with me. I hope you guys like it. Please review!_

_Also, I do not own One Tree Hill._

I've never been one for starting over. I've had way too many "fresh starts". After my mom died, my dad liked to move pretty much every six months, give or take a few weeks. And never anywhere that could be considered even a little interesting. To backwater towns, full of people that already knew each other, people that had families that had been best friends with the family next door for generations, people that looked at us like we brought the plague into their precious little village of judgmental cliques. I hated moving. I dreaded every time my father brought me into the living room of whatever run down shack we were living in at the time to tell me that we were once again uprooting our entire lives to move to some new place. I'd have to say goodbye to the friends that I had just barely had time to make, who had just started to accept me, just to do it all over again somewhere new. You'd think that I would have gotten used to it by the time that I was a junior in high school. I hadn't.  
>It happened just like it had every other time. My fifty year old father, who looked like he was much older than he actually was called me into the living room, where he was eating his millionth TV dinner in eleven years, and said, "Brooke, we're moving again."<br>I rolled my eyes. I should have known that it was coming. After all, everything had just started to get good in my life. It only made sense that he'd want to ruin it again. "Where to this time, captain?"  
>He cleared his throat, shifting in his arm chair. He opened his mouth to speak, and then shut it again. I didn't understand why he couldn't look at me. It was almost like he was nervous to tell me our new destination in our journey to completely ruin my life. "Tree Hill."<p>

I gaped at him as if he'd lost his mind. Tree Hill had been the start of all of this. The place I lived in until I was five years old. The place where my mother had died. I didn't know what to say except for, "Why?"

He reached up to hold my hand and I pulled away from him, taking a step back. "Why, Dad?"

"It only makes sense, Brooke. You should know where you came from. Where your mother came from. We haven't been back since she died. Wouldn't you like to see your mother's grave? And the house you grew up in?"

I took a deep breath, but inside I wanted to yell at him. As calmly as I could, I said, "Yes, Dad. I would have liked to be able to ride my bike to her cemetery every day after I got out of school. I would have liked to have grown up in the house that I was supposed to. I would have liked to actually have a place that I could call home, rather than just a temporary residence that I come to every day to sleep and eat. But you didn't care about what I wanted. So I stuck it out. And honestly, now I don't even know if I want to go back."

It looked as if my words had been expected. Like he'd known how I felt about the entire situation before I even had a chance to tell him. "Honey, I got offered a job, back in Fort Bragg. Doing what I used to do."

I gaped at him again. "What?"

He began to repeat himself, but I stopped him. "I know what you said, Daddy. I just don't understand why you would take that job again."

Before my mom died, my dad had worked as an undercover agent of some sort for the military at Fort Bragg, which neighbors Fayetteville, a town that isn't too far from Tree Hill. No one actually knows how my mother died. The popular rumor for a while was that my father was cheating on her and didn't want to get found out. That he would rather be a murderer than have his family name dishonored. Another theory was that one of the families of the criminals that my dad killed decided that they would exact some revenge on my father. Both theories made it a little difficult for me to sleep at night sometimes, and no matter what the truth was it all went back to my father being gone all the time. My mother's death could be blamed on that stupid job.

"I was good at it, sweetie. I liked it. Now I know that you're upset and that you don't want to move again, but my decision is final. We leave tomorrow, so you should probably start packing."

I felt a scream bubble to my lips. I wanted to tell him that I wasn't going. That I wasn't going to change my life around to make him happy anymore. But I couldn't. He had finally made a solid decision, and once he does that, no matter how infrequently it happened, there was no changing his mind.

"Yes, sir."

I started up the stairs to my attic bedroom, but Dad called my name.

"I do love you, honey. You know that, right?"

I did know, but I was going to cry, and I didn't want it to be in front of him. I just nodded, and continued walking.

I flopped down on my bed the moment I reached my room. I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry, but there was no time. I had work to do.

Since we moved so much, I pretty much only unpacked the bare necessities. Toiletries and a couple of pictures, my bed materials, and a couple of books were all I needed to put in boxes. I had grown to not even begin unpacking my suitcases of clothes. There was no point. I just pulled out what I needed, threw it in the laundry once it got dirty, and folded it right back into the suitcase once it was clean again. It minimized the pain of packing all the time.

As soon as I got everything packed away and had taken my boxes downstairs, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, and hesitantly scrolled through to find my boyfriend's name. I hit the call button, and my phone chirped back, "Calling Felix Tagaro."

It rang three times before I finally heard a voice groan, "Hello?"

"Hey, baby."

I heard him shuffling around, probably to turn on a light and check the time. "Brooke, you know it's midnight, right? I have swim practice in five hours."

I didn't know whether to ease into it or just deliver the news flat out. I chose the latter. "Felix…I'm moving in the morning."

He was awake now. I had his full attention. "What? B-baby, why? I thought that you guys were staying here. I just don't under-"

He made me want to cry with how sweet he was. He truly did not want me to leave. "I can't really explain it, honey. We leave at eight, right after I pull out of school."

There was silence on the other end. I knew Felix though. He was pulling his hair and squinting. Finally he said, "I don't want you to leave, Brooke. I-I-I love you."

Tears rolled down my cheeks, and I held back a sob. "I love you too,Felix. I don't want to leave you, but we have to go."

There were tears in his voice as he asked, "What does this mean for us?"

It was my turn to be quiet. "What do you want, Felix?"

"You."

It was one simple word, but it made tears fall faster down my face than anything else possibly could have. He sounded absolutely torn apart. And it was all my fault.

We talked for a while longer, but there was no changing the situation. I was was staying. We were going to try to make it work long distance, but I had a feeling that we both didn't have high hopes. The last time that I would see him for the foreseeable future was the next day at school.

I stayed up late that night, thinking, and when I woke up the next morning, it felt as if the whole thing had been a dream. Reality hit me the moment that I got down the stairs though. Dad was doing the usual "I'm really sorry that I'm ruining your life again, so here's a home cooked breakfast" gig. It was upsetting to smell bacon sizzling in the pan. I almost burst into tears all over again, but I knew that I had to hold it together, not for me, but for Joe. I owed it to him.

Dad and I ate breakfast in silence, as was our custom, and loaded the car and headed to school. Felix was waiting for me as soon as I got out of Dad's Focus.

"Baby," he whispered into my hair. "I'm going to miss you so very much."

He held me tighter than he ever had as he spun me around. My leather boot clad feet flew up and for a moment I smiled.

"I know, baby. I know."

He held my hand as I walked up the steps into our high school. My dad waited for me to get back to the car. I had done this enough that I knew how to withdraw from school with my eyes closed. I hated knowing I could do that.

The ladies in the office seemed very sad to see me go. I had skipped Spanish in the office enough that we had all grown rather close. Felix was by my side the whole time, and as we walked to the car, he paused at the top of the stairs. "I love you, Brooke Penelope Davis."

I let the tears fall for what felt like the millionth time that day and said, "I love you too."

"We can do it, right? Long distance? We can do it, right, baby?"

I smiled. "We can. But I have to go."

He pouted. I could see from the bags under his eyes that he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before and swim practice had kicked his ass. I kissed him on the lips, and squeezed his hand. "Goodbye, Romeo."

He smiled back. "Goodbye Juliet."

When I got in the car, Dad asked me, "Are you okay, sweetie?"

I sniffed as my nose started running. "No, I don't think I am. But I will be."

He patted me on the back and we drove off towards Carolina. I took a deep breath. It was nine hours from Diamond, Ohio to Tree Hill, North Carolina. Only nine hours to go.


	2. It Was Enchanting To Meet You

_I do not own One Tree Hill in any way, shape or form._

"Well, it doesn't suck," I told my father as I slammed the door to the Focus and squinted up at my new home. "What's the deal?"

We laughed and started lugging things out of the trunk. "They stopped using it for production about three years ago. Now it's ours. That's pretty much all I know."

I cocked my head to the side and laughed inwardly. Of all the places I had lived in the last thirteen years, I never imagined that the newest one would be an old Krispy Kreme Doughnuts store. "And do you just want me to turn the 'Hot Doughnuts Now!' sign on when I get home from school?"

He shot me a glare. "Very funny, squirt. It's already furnished. You get the bed nearest the conveyor belts."

"And why not just sleep on them, oh old one?"

Now his glare was real. I figured I should probably chill on the jokes. "Oh, by the way, I talked to an old friend, and I got you a job. No interview needed. You start tomorrow, but you have to go tonight to get your uniform."

I looked at him skeptically. "And what place is going to hire me? You know I don't look good in camouflage, Daddy."

"You're not working for the Army, you goon. You're working for Andy's."

Mmmm. Right. "What the fuck is an Andy's?"

He held up a warning finger. "Watch the language, young lady. And it's a burger joint. I already texted you directions on how to get there from here, and you probably need to get going. They close at nine."

I popped my hip out and raised an eyebrow. "And how do you expect me to get there, genius?"

He tossed me a set of keys and I started towards the Focus. He shook his head and pointed across the old parking lot to a bright red Mustang with a bow on top. I looked at him and said, "Really?"

He nodded and I started towards the car, then turned quickly, hugged him, and said, "I take back everything I said. I fucking love Tree Hill."

Then I jumped in my car and I was so very gone.

Gone so fast that I realized that I had absolutely no idea where in the world I was going. I pulled out my phone and saw eight new text messages. One was my bank balance, the next was the text from Dad and the last six were from Felix. I deleted all the others and opened Dad's. The store was thirty minutes away and I had forty five. Just enough time to get my shit done and get out.

The Mustang flew down the streets. I literally felt like I was flying. I loved it. The Mustang was going to be my escape. My way out. When things got hard, the road was going to be my savior.

I pulled into the parking lot, squealing tires and burning rubber. I parked and headed in and was assaulted by a girl screaming, "Hey, welcome to Andy's!"

I shot her a wave and walked to the counter. "What can I get for you today, ma'am?" she asked, perky, and smiling.

I tried my hardest to smile back. "Uh, the manager."

She put a concerned look on her face. "Oh. Was something wrong with your food? Is there anything that I can do to fix it?"

I shook my head. "No, just the manager, please."

She shot a nervous look to the cook standing behind her. He shrugged. "Uh, well he's not actually here right now."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay."

I started to walk out the door and the cook stopped me. "Are you Brooke?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Are you psychic or something?"

He laughed. "No. My boss told me you might be coming in. Come on into the back and I'll get you set."

I nodded, and followed him while the short girl sized me up. She looked friendly enough, but if there was anything that I had learned in my short eighteen years of life, it was that looks could be deceiving.

The cook handed me a pink shirt and I held back my vomit. "You're gonna need black shorts and black shoes too, by the way. Oh, and I'm Lucas."

"Okay," I said simply.

"Not much of a talker, huh?" he asked.

"Not in a new town with new people," I answered. "It's just gonna take some getting used to. New town, new people, new things.

He nodded as if he understood, though I know he didn't. "Well, like I said, I'm Lucas. And that small ball of energy flirting with my brother at the counter is Haley."

"That's kind of cool that your brother comes in here to hang out with you," I said.

He laughed again. "He doesn't come for me. He comes for pretty girls in short shorts, free food, and his shift."

It was my turn to laugh. "Oh, so he works here too? Keeping it in the family, I see."

"Something like that," he answered.

"So what's your brother's name?" I asked, looking at the boy at the counter who, now that he mentioned it, clearly resembled Sean. They had the same face, but the other boy looked older, yet younger at the same time, and he had that pretty boy hair and a knowing smirk.

"Nathan. He's a ladies man, so watch out."

I scoffed. "Please, do NOT worry about that. I had a great boyfriend, back in my last town."

"I notice you didn't say hometown."

"Of course I didn't," I retorted. "It wasn't much of a home."

He nodded again, trying to understand but losing that battle. We stood there awkwardly for a moment until I heard a voice say, "Luke! Stop hogging the new girl with your management self and let me get a good look at her."

He laughed and shouted his reluctant acceptance back and I raised an eyebrow in confusion for what felt like the thousandth time that night. "Management?" I questioned.

He looked sheepish. "Yeah. I just got named assistant manager, and Nate is never going to let me live it down."

I walked over to where Nathan stood and greeted him with my name. He shook my hand, as if boys in high school actually do that. I rolled my eyes as he tried to be charming, and then finally got fed up. "I have a boyfriend, okay?"

He looked shocked and said, "Okay? I was just trying to make conversation, crazy."

I laughed. "I'm sorry. I really am. I don't know why I just snapped like that. It's just been a really long day and I'm stressed about the move and everything."

He put a hand out to stop my stressed apology and said, "It's fine. Really. Don't worry about it."

I smiled my thanks, said my goodbyes to everyone else, and went to walk out the door. This time, no one stopped me. I breathed a sigh of relief and let my lungs fill with the warm summer air. Then I got in my Mustang, and left. All I wanted was sleep.


	3. Hold On, Baby, You're Losing It

_I do not own One Tree Hill. At all._

Sleep is, apparently, a relative term to my father. After I got into my conveyor belt bed, he was still tinkering around for what felt like hours. The noise didn't cease until almost three in the morning. And then sleep, thankfully, overtook me. My alarm started going off much too soon.

I prepared for my first day at Tree Hill High School the same way I did for all the others- slowly. I was not that excited to be a Raven. As I dressed, I wondered if I would see any of the faces that I'd seen last night at school. I sincerely doubted it, but I was hopeful. From what I'd heard from my father, Tree Hill was smaller than all my other schools, but it was rare that I ever saw a friendly face that first day.

Dad offered to make breakfast, but I opted to grab something on the way instead. I was too jumpy to sit still. I needed to drive. I needed to fly. I practically ran to the Mustang, my school things in hand, and started the car. A Day to Remember flooded my speakers, the first track on the CD I'd made last night. As I skidded out of the parking lot, all I heard was the lead singer scream, "Everybody's out to get me!"

I smiled to myself as I sped to school. I'd woken up later than I should have. I did it knowingly. No one expects the new kid to be on time on the first day of school. I was simply living up to their expectations. When I hit the main road in town, I was in the home stretch. I took a turn into the McDonald's parking lot that was just before the school and ordered a chicken biscuit to curb my hunger. Then it was off to school. Oh joy.

I walked in wiping the crumbs from my biscuit off my face. I'd chosen a simple outfit for the first day of school. Ripped jeans, Converses, and a Reel Big Fish t-shirt. I threw my leather jacket over my shoulder and started towards the office.

The receptionist looked nice enough, even if she did chew her gum a little loudly. She smiled when I gave her my name and directed me down the hall to guidance. I smiled and thanked her for my help and started on to the torture chamber that would be making my schedule.

As I walked in, I noticed two things right away. One- this school had really terrible lighting. Two- everything was so…happy. It made me uncomfortable to look. I introduced myself to the woman behind the desk and she asked me to have a seat at the table until one of the counselors was ready. I sat down next to a boy that was shuffling some folders around. He looked at me and asked, "First day?"

I nodded. "You too?"

He chuckled. "Nah, I work here. Don't worry. You don't make it too obvious that you're lost and overwhelmed. And you've got the 'I don't give a fuck' swagger down too, so you should be set, no matter what terrible classes they give you."

I laughed at his biting sarcasm. This boy was funny. He wasn't even trying to be. He was just genuinely funny. "Thanks," I said. "I'm Brooke, by the way."

He smiled back at me. "I'm Skills."

"Nice to meet you," I said. And for the first time that I had ever said that to a new student in one of new schools, I meant it. And that felt amazing.

A skinny blonde woman came out and said, "Brooke? Brooke Davis?"

I raised my hand and started to gather my things as I said to Skills, "See you around?"

He nodded. "Count on it."

The guidance counselor was named Ms. Mollet. She was ditzy and unorganized, but a genius at scheduling. "You've taken a lot of advanced classes, I see."

"Yes ma'am," I answered.

"Well," she said. "I think I have everything all set. Tell me if you see anything that truly upsets you. We only take four classes a day here, but they're for an hour and a half each, so it all balances out. Just let me know about that first semester, and once finals come around, we'll talk about the second."

I glanced at the verdict. I had advanced English, debate, Spanish, and theatre. It looked alright to me. I'd definitely seen worse. "Looks fine," I answered.

She smiled. "Good. Your first class is just across the hall in room 104."

I thanked her for all of her help and scurried across the hall. As I opened the door, the entire class hushed.

The teacher, a tall and slender black woman who had to still be in her mid-twenties asked, "Yes?"

I cleared my throat. "Um, I'm Brooke Davis. I'm a new student."

She smiled. "Ah, yes. Well, how about you take a seat behind Katie here, and we'll get you settled in. But first, tell us a little about yourself."

I swallowed nervously. "Uh, well, I'm Brooke. My dad and I move a lot because of his work, and I have never wanted to disappear as much as I do right now."

The class laughed and I took my seat as Ms. King, as she said her name was, settled back into her lecture about comma placement and correct conjunctions. I smiled to myself. One class down, three to go.


	4. I Didn't Know Who I Was Supposed To Be

_Unfortunately for me, I do not own One Tree Hill._

By the time that the final bell rang, I was exhausted. All I wanted was to sleep, but I had to go to that stupid burger place for work. I had worked in a restaurant before, and figured that it wouldn't be that hard to catch on.

I pulled my uniform shirt out of my bag and over my head, and just as I was about to get in my car, I heard someone yell my name. I turned to see the girl from last night running towards me. I let her catch her breath before I asked her what she wanted.

"I was just wondering if you were working tonight," she panted heavily.

I nodded and she smiled. "Awesome, I'll see you there!"

She ran off again and I rolled my eyes. I was getting too old for this bullshit.

New starts always hard, but as I walked into Andy's, I knew that this one was going to be much easier than school was. Despite the awful uniform that I was pretending to be happy about sporting, I liked the vibe of the place. It was set up like an old fifties diner, and it was kind of perfect for an outcast like me. It was one of those places were everything just felt right, no matter how much of an outsider you were.

I was greeted this time by a girl who had maybe half as much spunk as Haley. She was wearing a name tag that said, "Ask me about our new beefed up cheesesteak!" However, I had a feeling that if I asked her about such things, she would probably punch me in the face. Underneath that message was one word, in careful writing. "Nikki."

I walked to the counter and she looked me over carefully. "You must be the new girl."

I flashed her a weak smile and said, "I am. My name's Brooke."

She gave me a smile that was actually closer to a grimace and said, "Nikki. Tristian's in the back."

I nodded and took a step behind the counter into the back room. There was a sink to my left and a counter that was coated in ketchup in front of me. I walked farther and saw a red headed young man snoozing on a desk that was hidden by filing cabinets. I looked around for a moment, awkwardly trying to figure out what to do. I settled on poking the guy, but he just let out a soft snore. Plan B it was. I shook him and he jerked awake.

"Nikki, how many times have I said…oh. Hi. You must be Brooke."

I smiled at my boss, who was obviously an insane person and said, "Yep. You're Tristian, right?"

"Yes ma'am. I'm the manager here and it's nice to meet you. I see that Luke got you all set up uniform wise. Good. I'll show you around."

He led me around the small store, and I followed like the fresh faced new employee that I was. "This is the back room, where we store everything. This is the prep sink, that's the dish washing sink and the drying racks, that's the cook line, this is the custard station, and that's the floor. It's pretty straightforward. You take the order, give it to the cook, take it back out and ring customers up. I'm sure you'll catch on pretty fast."

I smiled again, momentarily at a loss for words. He gave me a quizzical look and said, "Follow me. I'll take you to the most important spot in the store."

We walked through the back room and out a door that led to outside. A petite girl stood there, a cigarette sticking out of her mouth. "Shit. You're still here, Peyton?" Tristian asked.

She nodded, took a long drag off her cigarette and said, "You know me, boss. Committed to the job and all. Plus, I told Luke that I'd wait for him to get here from class. Who's the new meat?"

"Peyton, this is Brooke. Brooke, this is Peyton. She's the head waitress here, so if you have any questions, she's the best person to get here."

I shook the girl's hand and smiled. "Do you want a cig?" she inquired.

I shook my head and laughed. "Nah, I don't smoke. Clean body, clean soul and all that."

She scoffed and said, "Yeah, that's what they all say at first. I did too. Don't worry, you'll start soon. Luke is the only one that I've seen resist."

"Are you and him like an item or something?" I asked.

She smirked. "Or something."

Just then, a blue Chevy Cavalier pulled up next to a black Comet that I'm assuming was Peyton's by the way that she leaned up against it protectively. Lucas hopped out of the driver's side door, singing Fall Out Boy and jamming out on an invisible drum set.

"That's dangerous, you know."

Lucas offered Peyton an inquisitive look and she answered, "Being a douche whilst driving. Totally dangerous."

He shot her a glare and said, "Well thanks, sunshine. Nice to see you too. Hey, new girl."

I nodded in recognition as Tristian walked back out of the back door. "Oh good. You're here. Listen, Luke. We're out of bacon and running low on American cheese. If you need anything, just send Haley to the store. I'm out of here."

"Oh great," Lucas said. "Working with Haley and new girl. Terrific."

I took a moment to be offended before I brushed off his harsh words. I would not let this admittedly adorable jackass ruin my first day.

Lucas walked over to Peyton after he finished getting his work clothes out of his backseat and wrapped her in a warm hug. I looked away quickly, just because it felt like I was witnessing a moment that I shouldn't have. I expected the hug to only last a few moments, but after about two minutes of the two simply enjoying the arms of each other, I decided it was time for me to go inside.

The moment I walked through the door, Nikki descended upon me like a vulture. "Good. You're here. Okay, here's the deal. My daughter is sick, so I need you to clock in a little early. Lucas can get you all set up on the register. And ice needs to be stocked, bathrooms need to be cleaned, dishes need to be washed and you need to clean the custard machine. Can you handle all of that?"

I nodded my head, though I had no idea what she was talking about. I was too afraid of this girl to say no. She looked like she might eat me if I did. Nikki smiled her appreciation and then bustled out of the door. I sighed. There were no customers in the store, and maybe if I was lucky, we would be dead all night. I walked to the back to ask Lucas to explain everything that Nikki had just said, but as soon as I reached for the door handle, it swung wide open. I swallowed before I spoke and Lucas walked in and looked at me quizzically. "What, new girl?"

"Um, the girl who has what seems to be a demon living in her just left me a bunch of stuff to do, but I don't know what any of it means."

Lucas laughed. "You're the first person to ever see the striking resemblance. Nikki's a little intense right now. She's trying to quit smoking and she's been grumpy. What'd she ask you to do?"

I released some of the tension I hadn't even realized I'd had building in my body. "Well, she asked me to do something with ice, something about bathrooms, wash the dishes and clean the custard machine."

Peyton walked in and snorted right as I finished. "Nikki didn't do shit, I see. What lie did she make up this time?"

"Sh-she said her kid was sick," I stammered.

Peyton rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and that's what her babysitter, my boyfriend, is for. Welcome to the first stage of working here, Brooke. Slowly, you'll get the backbone to stand up to the bitchy waitresses you will be forced to work with, but for now, they're gonna use you. Nikki left all that shit for you to do simply because she could. Next time, tell her to do it before she leaves. And don't worry about doing any of it. Haley will handle it all when she gets here. Alright?"

I nodded curtly, because I was more than a little pissed off. Someone doing that to me, taking advantage of the new girl; it's what I've strived to avoid every time that I've moved. Nikki had done it without me even realizing it.

Lucas patted me on the head and said, "See, new girl? No need to worry. Peyton's gonna take care of you."

I whirled around, and hit his hand away. "And I appreciate that," I said. "But I don't appreciate you constantly referring to me as new girl. I have a name, and it's Brooke. So how about you start using it instead of trying to degrade me, you narcissistic, arrogant son of a bitch."

I felt another pat now, this time on my back and it was from Peyton's warm hands. "And you just passed test one."

I smiled. As much as I felt like I was going to hate this place, it just got a little bit better. Lucas smiled at me appreciatively. "Looks like _Brooke_ has a little bit of fight in her."

I smirked. "Boy, you ain't seen nothing yet."

Peyton let out a cheer and reached out for a high five, which I obligingly gave her. "Looks like this girl is already talking like she's from the south," she said.

I smiled to myself. I'd let them believe whatever they wanted about my past, for now. I wasn't ready to give these people all the dirty details yet. Especially when I wasn't sure if they could even be trusted.

The door rang, and we all ignored it as we heard Haley yell, "Where are all you bitches at?"

Lucas poked his head into the front room. "Don't you know that you should never end your sentence with a preposition?"

Haley shot him a look that would have stopped me in my tracks. "Don't you know that I'll chop off your balls if you speak to me about grammar ever again?"

I laughed and Haley brightened when she saw me. "BROOKE! I'm so excited to work with you."

I worked up all the enthusiasm I could as I said, "Same here."

Peyton chuckled to herself, and looked at the shorter girl. "Hales, you want a cig?"

Haley twitched her lips and furrowed her brow, like she was contemplating whether she was going to help herself to an early death or not. "Yeah. I'll be out there in just a second."

Peyton nodded, and walked out the back door, with Lucas at her heels. Haley went to one of the drink machines and started preparing a drink for herself. "So," I said. "What's the deal with those two?"

Haley sighed, and then sipped her Pepsi. "Classic love story, really. Girl likes boy. Boy is mean. Girl moves on. Boy then likes girl. Girl is completely oblivious and rubs new boyfriend in Boy's face every chance that she gets. Boy suffers quietly."

I nod, as if I had a clue what any of that meant. I guess, in a sense, I did. Felix and I had had a pretty twisted relationship before we had gotten together. Maybe there was hope for my co-workers.

Haley sighed again. "Look," she said. "I gotta go get some nicotine in me before my shift starts. Will you be okay up here on your own?"

I nodded, and smiled. "I'll get you if I need anything."

Haley turned on her heel, and ran out the door, desperate for a fix. I rolled my eyes. I would never understand smokers. I stood against the counter, thinking about how much I missed Ohio when suddenly the doors opened and the world stopped.

In front of me was the most gorgeous man that I had ever seen. He had amazing dark eyes, dark brown hair, he was tall and muscular, and he had a smile that pulled one side of his face. He was stunning.

Not only that, but he was also my boyfriend.

"Felix?" I said. "What…how…what are you doing here?"

_CLIFFHANGER! Please review3_


	5. An Eye For An Eye, A Dream For A Dream

_**Here you go, loyal readers. This is chapter five. I apologize if you hate it. It was a little difficult to write, just because I felt like it was very out of character for Felix. Hope you like it though! And as always, I do not own One Tree Hill**_

"_Felix?" I said. "What…how…what are you doing here?"_

He smiled his typical lopsided smile at me and said, "What do you think I'm doing here, Cookie? I drove 9 hours to see you!"

I stared at him, still completely shocked at his presence there, in a fifties diner, in Tree Hill. What the hell is going on with the world?

Finally, something in me realized that this was not the reaction I should be having, and instead I threw myself at him, practically jumping over the counter. My arms and legs were wrapped around him like I was a koala holding onto him for dear life. In his arms, I finally felt whole again, as if this entire experience in Tree Hill was just some stupid dream. I looked up at him and his lips crashed down onto mine.

Kissing Felix is always intoxicating. When we finally broke apart, I felt dizzy. I smiled a goofy smile up at him and hoped that I didn't look like too much of a goon. Just then the doorbell rang twice, once for the front door, and once for the back door.

Nathan walked in the front door, tying his apron behind him as he walked in. He looked at Felix holding me and said, "Hey, Brooke. What's going on?"

I smiled at him. "This is my boyfriend, Felix. Felix, this is Nathan."

Nathan put out his hand for Felix to shake and Felix looked at it like it was diseased. I shot a look at him, angry that he was being so rude to my coworkers. These were people that I desperately needed to like me and Felix was treating them the same way that people at school always treated me. I hit him in the chest and he took Nathan's hand, but let go as quickly as possible.

Nathan, probably to be annoying more than anything, smiled what looked like a genuine smile and said, "Nice to meet you, man. Brooke's a great girl. I know that she and I are going to have a great time closing tonight. We'll really get to bond, since it'll be just me and her. You're a lucky guy."

I glared at Nathan, knowing that he was only doing this to stir up trouble. Felix had been here five minutes and there was already drama. I pushed aside my anger, though and asked him to take a seat at the counter. Felix did as I asked, and glared as Nathan walked behind me to the back room.

"How are you doing, baby? Do you like it here?" Felix asked, pulling out his phone and texting someone.

I looked at his phone with my eyebrows raised, but once again brushed off the annoyance that I felt. "It's okay, I guess. School was alright but I can tell that I'm really going to like this place."

Felix snorted and I glared at him. "What?" he asked. "You can't expect me to be happy with you working with a guy who obviously is into you. It makes me uncomfortable that you're going to be here, in this empty store, working with him. He's going to try to get into your pants, Brooke and I hate that with everything in me."

I sighed. Even though it wasn't like that with Nathan and I, there was some logic behind most of the worry that Felix was feeling. I smiled my sexiest smile at him and said, "Well then I guess you're just going to have to trust me."

Felix raised an eyebrow at me and said, "I think I'm going to like this. But before we continue, I really have to pee."

I snorted a laugh and said, "It's cool. Do you mind if I call your parents and let them know how thankful I am that you're here?"

He shook his head and slid his phone to me across the counter. Just then, I heard a scream from the back and saw Nathan poke his head around the corner, "Sorry about that, guys. Just continue whatever it is you were doing."

Felix and I both looked at each other and then cracked up laughing. He kissed me quickly before he made his way to the other end of the store where the bathroom was. I flipped open his phone and saw a text from Rachel, a girl that I used to go to school with back in Ohio.

"Well just get your dick wet and break up with her. I need you back in Ohio and back in me ;)"

I couldn't believe this. I could not believe this. The words were buzzing through my head. I was shaking in anger, but I steeled myself and walked calmly to the back room. Haley was sitting on a chair, Lucas was on the desk, and Nathan was trying to balance on the edge of an empty trashcan. Peyton, however, was nowhere to be found.

"Brooke!" Haley screamed. "Nate says that your boyfriend is here. How awesome is that? I'm so happy for you. Can I meet him?"

I smiled the best I could at her, and shook my head. "Now's not really a good time, Hales. But Nate, uh, can I talk to you up front for a second?"

Lucas raised his eyebrows at me, and then gave his brother a look that could only have been telling him to behave himself.

Nate followed me up front, where Felix was sitting, smiling at me. I sent him a smile back, making him feel comfortable so that he wouldn't expect what was about to happen. I turned to face Nate and said, "So Nate, I just had a tiny question for you. What do you consider cheating?"

I watched Felix's face as I spoke. It barely changed, except for the widening of his eyes momentarily. Nate looked between the two of us. "Uh, I guess I would say that that's doing something that you wouldn't want your significant other to know about."

I pretended to look as if I was considering what he said. Then I looked at Nate. "So that would mean that having sex with a girl back home if you have, say, a long distance girlfriend is _definitely_ cheating, right?"

Nate looked as uneasy as Felix must have been feeling as he answered, "Well, yeah."

I looked at Felix and said, "Hmm. Well then I guess you can take your **cheating **ass back to Ohio and back Rachel, the home-wrecking slut. I hope you two will be very happy together."

Felix stammered, "B-B-Brooke, come on. Don't do this. Let me make it up to you. I mean, you read my texts, so we're kind of even."

I looked at him in shock. He couldn't seriously think that cheating on your girlfriend of two years was anywhere near the same level as accidentally reading a simple text message. I turned to look at Nathan, who was seething at my boyfriend's words and took hold of his neck, pulling his lips down onto mine. He made a sound of shock, but then started kissing me back. I broke away and looked at Felix and said, "Now we're even. And over. Get the fuck out of this store and this town."

He glared at the both of us and walked out the door, not even looking back. Nathan looked down at me, his face adoring and said, "You're amazing. Do you know that?"

_**Like it? Hate it? Ideas for where you want this to go? Hit the little blue button and let me know!**_


	6. It Just Takes Some Time

**_Hello again, loyal readers! This is part six of the saga. Once again, I apologize if you hate it. Thanks so much to Isabel Camilla Scott for always reviewing faithfully. Please review, guys! It means everything and really helps me know what works and what doesn't. As always, I do not own One Tree Hill. _**

My shift passed quickly that night. My co-workers danced around me, afraid that I might break down or explode at any moment. Except for Nathan, that is. At the end of the night, as he was counting the register and I was mopping the floors, there was a moment where I think I saw the real Nathan Scott.

"Hey, Brooke!" he called. "How much did you make in tips tonight?"

I smirked at him, and raised an eyebrow. "Not enough to buy you dinner, hot shot."

He laughed. "You must not be a very good waitress then, loser. We were busy as hell tonight."

"Yeah," I said. "But I saw you chow down in the back room on break. I could totally buy a normal person dinner. But you, Mr. Bottomless Pit, are a different story entirely."

He chuckled. "I need to know for tip claim, you goof."

"Oh. Well in that case, fifty four dollars and thirty six cents."

He nodded, logging the information into the computer. I stopped mopping for a few minutes and paused to watch him. He seemed so different in that moment. Usually he was so cavalier, so carefree about everything. With the store, however, he was careful. The work he did with the register was meticulous, methodical, borderline obsessive. He counted the drawer at least six times, each time slower than the next. Each time, he furrowed his brow further.

Finally, after the entire floor had been swept, mopped and re-mopped, I walked over to where he was standing. I took off my apron and set it on the counter next to Nate and touched his arm gently. "Are you okay?" I asked quietly.

He shook his head, still staring at the numbers on the screen in front of him. "It just doesn't make any sense."

"What?" I asked.

"The drawer is short," he answered, looking at me with a pained expression taking over his face. "Haley wouldn't do this, and I know for a fact that you didn't. That leaves Lucas, and then the day staff. And I don't want to pin this on Tristian or Peyton, and that really only leaves Nikki."

"Well how short is it?" I asked. "I'll pay it in. It's no big."

Nathan shook his head again. "Brooke, thank you, but you can't. It's two hundred dollars short."

I gaped at him. Two hundred dollars. "Well maybe there's a good explanation," I said.

He sighed, and rubbed his temples. "I hope so." He looked at me again, worry in his eyes. "I know that you know that Lucas is my half-brother. Peyton fills everyone in on that part. But I doubt she told you the whole sob story of it all."

I shook my head. "She didn't."

His lips twisted up into a tortured half smile. "Luke's mom was dating our dad in high school. He knocked her up, and then left her. He met my mom in college and she got pregnant too. My dad stayed with her though, for some inexplicable reason. Luke's mom is a great woman. I'm jealous of the relationship that Luke has with her. I've never been able to connect with either of my parents like that. My dad just pushes me to live the life he wanted for himself, and my mom isn't really around that much. She's always away on _business._" He rolled his eyes at the last word, making me think that it wasn't the kind of business that any mother should be having with anyone but her husband. "Anyway, Karen owns this store. Andy was her husband. He was the only father Lucas every really knew. Karen named the restaurant after him. This place means so much to her. I don't want that to be tainted, not by anything. Especially one of the employees that Karen spent so much time picking out herself."

I nodded, finally understanding. He felt like he owed something to Karen since his dad had chosen Nate's mom over her. "We'll figure it out," I said.

He smiled at me. "Thanks, Brooke."

I smiled back. We stared at each other for a moment, and I could see a story in his eyes. A wretched, heartbreaking story. A story that I so wanted to be part of. He was moving closer to me. He was going to kiss me. Part of me knew this was wrong. I had only been single for about six hours. Another part of me, though, wanted him to kiss me. I was so torn and then, suddenly, I cleared my throat and moved away from him. I walked to the counter and grabbed my purse out of one of the cubbies installed into it, and pulled out my wallet. I walked back to Nathan and put several crisp bills on the counter.

He looked at me quizzically. "A lap dance doesn't cost quite that much, doll face."

I snorted a laugh and then quickly covered my mouth with my hand. "That, sir, is not what this is for. That is one hundred and fifty four dollars. That leaves you to come up with forty six. Karen will never know about the drawer."

His face softened, and so did his voice. "Brooke, you really don't have to do that."

I narrowed my eyes. "I really do. It's important to you, so it's important to me too. And if you don't take it, I'll quit right here and right now."

He held his hands up and said, "Fine, you win. I'll take it. But I won't be happy about it."

I laughed and put my wallet back in my purse. "No one asked you to be." I gathered up the rest of my things, pulled out a tube of lipstick from my purse and wrote my number on a napkin. I handed the napkin to Nate and said, "Do not abuse this privilege."

He chuckled and saluted. "Yes, ma'am."

I rolled my eyes and said, "Well, I have a crap ton of homework, so I gotta get out of here. Lock the door behind me?"

He nodded, and walked to the door with me. He stopped after he twisted the lock open and looked down at me. "Are you okay?" he asked. "About the whole Felix thing, I mean."

I shrugged. "Not really. But I will be." Then I pushed the door open and walked out into the warm night air.

My thoughts raced as I drove home. Felix's betrayal. The pain Karen must still be carrying. Lucas and Peyton's relationship drama. But most of all, my head was full of thoughts of Nathan. Our almost kiss, his care for the store, his worry for me. Why was this guy so in tune with me? It wasn't supposed to be like this. I was a loner. I always had been. No one had ever cared for me so quickly in any of the other places I had lived.

"Fucking Tree Hill," I said to myself as I pulled up to my doughnut shop house. "I knew this place was going to be emotional."

I crawled into my bed hours later, after a ton of homework. I was exhausted. I was just going to go to sleep. But something was bothering me. Nathan still hadn't texted me. Maybe I overestimated his feelings for me? But I shouldn't care either way. I wouldn't.

Then, as if cued by fate, my phone vibrated.

_Goodnight, beautiful._

I smiled. Speak of the devil.

_Goodnight. But hey, one question before you drift off to dreams of strippers and beer pong. What did you mean when you said that you knew I didn't take the money._

Seconds later, I had my answer. 

_You're a good person. Plus, I might have been staring at you all night. You're super hot ;)_

I laughed. Little prick. I'd kick him for that tomorrow. I put my phone down next to me, only to have it vibrate angrily again.

_But that's not the only reason I was staring. You're worth watching, Brooke Davis. I mean that._

What did that mean? Who was this man that was messing with my head? Unanswered questions, questions that were burning into my head. But something else in my head burned brighter and I smiled as I thought of those words.

_You're worth watching, Brooke Davis._


End file.
